Squirrel Cuckoo ( Piaya cayana )
- Sent by Rodrigo Girardi Santiago - 30/01/2007
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60 cm. The tail is very long. The general color is reddish brown. The tail feathers are pale in their tips and in the inferior side. The head has a lighter coloration. The chest is gray. The young individuals have shorter tails.
Distribution:
From Mexico to Argentina.
Habitat:
Lives in the canopy of secondary forests, cerrado and urban areas with plenty of trees.
Diet:
Feeds on grasshoppers, bugs, caterpillars, spiders, etc. Also feeds on small vertebrates as treefrogs.
Reproduction:
In the breeding season the male sings restlessly 96 times a minute. Before mating gives the female a caterpillar. The nest looks like a frying pan made of loosely crossed branches and is placed in a tall tree. Generally six white eggs are laid. Male and female share the bringing up of the hatchlings.
It resembles a squirrel when crawling and jumping through the branches, generally in pairs. May mock other bird’s songs. It is a potential predator of small songbirds and is often chased away by them.
